Rules of the Air

1. Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory. Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of takeoffs you've made.

2. If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.

3. Flying isn't dangerous. Crashing is what's dangerous.

4. It's always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.

5. The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

6. The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.

7. When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.

8. A ‘good’ landing is one from which you can walk away. A ‘great’ landing is one after which they can use the plane again.

9. You know you've landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.

10. You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.

11. If all you can see out of the window is ground that's going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.

12. In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.

13. It's always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.

14. Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It's the law. And it's not subject to repeal.

15. The three most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, and a tenth of a second ago.